The title of this blog comes from a Gaelic expression -"putting on the poor mouth"-which means to exaggerate the direness of one's situation in order to gain time or favour from creditors.

17 September 2012

Attack of the Giant Slugs

The Independent reports that a plague of “super-slugs” has arrived in the UK from Spain, travelling on imported salads and flowers.

“The Spanish Slug
(Arion vulgaris) and a close relative nicknamed the Spanish Stealth Slug
(Arion flagellus) are both an invasion threat,” said Gordon Port, an
invertebrate expert from the Newcastle University. “Both species
are known to be present in the UK, but in mainland Europe they have
produced plagues and it is only a matter of time before the same thing
happens here.”

The giant Spanish slug, which can
grow up to 15cm long, has already travelled as far as Wales. They
produce hundreds more eggs than native slugs meaning they are capable of
overrunning British species. They could also spread parasites and
diseases that could wipe out native slugs.

The slugs aren't picky when it comes to eating.
They've been known to eat through dead rabbits, dog faeces and even
their fellow slugs. Drivers are also at risk. The plagues of slugs are known to cause slicks on the road where they have been run over and squashed.

Another non native species that has the potential to cause trouble. Not the first and won't be the last

About Me

Born Bonaparte O'Coonassa in Corkadoragha where the the torrential rains are more torrential, the squalor more squalid, the hopelessness more utterly hopeless than they are anywhere else. Actually I'm Shaun Downey and I live in Romford which is probably worse (Romford, that is, not my name!)